CIVIL RIGHTS
Black people could not sit just anywhere they wanted in the bus. They had to sit in the back of the bus. If white people were already sitting in the front of the bus, the black person had to pay the fare, get off the bus, and reenter at the back door. Sometimes the bus driver just drove off and left them before they could get back on at the back door. If the bus filled up with people, the driver would ask a black person to move so he could reposition the movable sign which divided the black and white sections. On December 1, 1955 after a hard day at work, Rosa was riding the bus home when the driver asked her and three black men to move to make more room in the white section. The three men moved, but Rosa refused. A police officer came, arrested her and took her to jail. She was bailed out that evening. She didn't plan the incident, but when it happened, she decided to stand up for her rights. She was tired of being humiliated and treated unfairly. She was not the first black person to refuse to move on a bus, but when the event happened to her, civil rights leaders knew they had found someone to champion their cause. Rosa was a person who was above reproach, and people could not find fault with her character.
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| Parks being arressted |